Walking For Your Health by Jane Thurnell-Read

Here's what some people say about walking:

• I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.
• The only reason I would take up walking is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.
• I have to walk early in the morning, before my brain figures out what I'm doing.

I hope these have amused you, but seriously walking can be a very good form of exercise.

Some people, of course, love walking. I like this quote from Soren Kierkegaard : Above all do not lose your desire to walk - I have walked myself into my best thoughts and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it.

Weight bearing activities (such as walking) help to strengthen your bones and prevent osteoporosis. Walking on uneven ground for a short time each day has been shown particularly to benefit the health of seniors. Walking has been shown to have a positive benefit in helping diabetics control blood sugar levels. Go walk, you could reduce your dependence on drugs. Try Nordic walking using special poles to increase the intensity of your walking, and to exercise more of your body.

Living Streets, a UK charity, says that children who don't practice walking to primary school are less traffic aware and more likely to have road accidents. A survey carried out by UK national charities Parentline Plus and Living Streets has found that parents disproportionately fear their children being abducted or killed in a road incident or collision over the more likely threat to their health from childhood obesity. Over a thousand parents of primary school aged children were asked what they fear most for their children (from a given list) and 30% stated abduction or murder, with only 5% revealing a fear for their child’s poor health in later life due to their child’s current level of  physical activity. Although there is about a one in a million  chance of a child being killed by a stranger, the risk of severe health issues and early mortality as a result of the lack of physical activity is one in three.

The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) estimates that about 10,000 cases of breast and bowel cancer could be prevented every year in the UK alone through people being more physically active. They also estimate that about 4,600 bowel cancer cases could be prevented simply if people in the UK did more brisk walking and other forms of moderate activity. Moderate exercise makes  your heart beat a bit faster and makes you breathe more deeply.

Physical activity also reduces risk of endometrial cancer (cancer of the womb lining).  People who are regularly active are less likely to be overweight, which is an important cancer risk factor. This is why WCRF recommends being physically active for at least half an hour a day.

Go on do it – switch the telly off,  leave the housework, social network less – go out in the real world and do some brisk walking – your mind and your body will benefit.
Copyright 2010 Jane Thurnell-Read


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